The institutions the 18 were affiliated with were Korea Daesong Bank, Foreign Trade Bank of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Korea United Development Bank, Bank of East Land and ILSIM International Bank.

North Korea is a “big problem for our country and for the world, and we want to get it solved”, the USA president told reporters on Air Force One.

Melania Trump is accompanying her husband, President Donald Trump, on his first Asian tour, which kicked off in Japan.

Trump’s conciliatory-sounding comment came after months of fiery rhetorical exchanges between the two leaders, prompted by a series of internationally condemned nuclear and missile tests by the North.

“There’s been 25 years of total weakness, so we are taking a very much different approach” toward the North, he told reporters travelling with him.

American allies in Asia are looking for signs from the president of a new strategy for the region now that the U.S. has pulled out of TPP, said former U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman. Trump said that he wants “Putin’s help on North Korea”.

Trump then travels to China on Wednesday, Vietnam on Friday and the Philippines on Sunday.

The president also praised efforts by USA allies to “renew their commitment to peace through strength”.

North Korea itself welcomed Trump to the region with a rhetorical volley via the ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun, warning a “spiritual instable” president against making “reckless remarks”.

The Japanese premier said he would announce on Tuesday that Japan will freeze the assets of 35 North Korean groups and individuals.

Meanwhile, Trump reaffirmed the importance of the U.S. -Japan relations, saying, “Japan is a treasured partner and crucial ally of the United States”.

He rebuked the current relationship, saying the trade deals were “not fair and not open”.

In one of the most emotional moments of his trip to Japan, Trump met the now elderly families of those abducted, who were clutching pictures of their loved ones.

Also on the agenda during Mr Trump’s second day in Asia: an audience with Emperor Akihito, a sit-down with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and a state dinner.

“Try building your cars in the United States instead of shipping them over”. “In that process we will be buying more from the USA, that is what I am thinking”. The two sides are at odds over how to frame future trade talks, with Tokyo pushing back against US calls to discuss a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA).

When asked whether that meant an announcement would come during Trump’s trip, the official only said: “Stay tuned”. The 11 remaining nations in the TPP, to which Japan’s Abe is firmly committed, are edging closer to sealing a comprehensive free trade pact without the United States.

For Trump, more known for shoving a fellow leader aside than embracing one, the relationship with Abe is a way to show he can work with his peers around the globe. “I think it would be a tremendous signal if Kim Jong Un would send them back”, Trump said.

Little did Trump know that Abe would take him up on the offer so soon, saying he thought they wouldn’t meet until after the inauguration.

Trump on Monday called the Texas church shooting that claimed at least 26 lives “an act of evil”, denounced the violence in “a place of sacred worship” and pledged the full support of the federal government.

“For nearly 60 years, the military alliance has endured [as] a cornerstone of sovereignty, security and prosperity for our nations, this region and indeed the entire world”, he said.